Honeoye's Sandy Bottom Beach cleared of algae toxins

The beach that had been closed Monday due to algae concerns reopened today.

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By Julie Sherwood jsherwood@messengerpostmedia.com

MPNnow

By Julie Sherwood jsherwood@messengerpostmedia.com

Posted Jul. 24, 2014 at 12:31 AM

By Julie Sherwood jsherwood@messengerpostmedia.com

Posted Jul. 24, 2014 at 12:31 AM

Canandaigua, N.Y.

RICHMOND —Town officials reopened Sandy Bottom Beach today after testing by state health officials cleared the lake at the beach of toxins linked to blue-green algae.

A state health official took a water sample of Honeoye Lake at Sandy Bottom Beach on Wednesday. The beach was closed Monday due to what the town's website stated as poor visibility due to algae.

“Parents understand — it's Mother Nature and nothing we can control,” Richmond Recreation Director Holly Stoddard said Wednesday as she and others waited for the results of the test. Stoddard works closely with the state DOH regarding the condition of the lake to ensure its safety for swimming.

“We still have a lot of activities for the kids,” she said, noting that Sandy Bottom Park remained open for recreation.

Stoddard said the health department contacted her earlier this week about taking a water sample and a state health official arrived about lunch time on Wednesday, walking into the lake at the park in the usual attire — wearing waders — and collecting the sample taken for testing.

DOH spokesman Jeffrey Hammond, contacted late Wednesday afternoon, said he would report any updates or testing results as soon as possible. No new information was available at the close of the business day Wednesday.

Last summer, Sandy Bottom Beach was closed to swimming and other recreation after the state Department of Environmental Conservation reported large, localized algae blooms on the lake in July. Later that summer the DEC and DOH reported the algae contained high toxins, adding additional warnings to stay out of the lake.

Monday's beach closing was the first closing this season, though the DEC did report blue-green algae on the lake earlier this summer. A DEC report on June 27, based on lab samples, landed Honeoye on the DEC's list of lakes statewide as having widespread blue-green algae blooms. Then, a subsequent DEC report June 30, based on a visual sampling, updated the algae status as “suspicious” and “small localized.”

Honeoye Lake was not on the DEC's algae list Wednesday.

Honeoye Lake is historically prone to algae blooms that have plagued the lake to various degrees — depending on weather and other factors — going back as far as the middle of the 20th century, according to locals. Reasons for the algae and methods of controlling it continue to be a source of debate in the community among residents who live along the lake, either part-time or year-round, and those affected by the lake's condition such as business owners and homeowners near the lake.

In the neighboring town of Canadice, a $5 million construction project is in the works to create a water district serving some 450 households that now rely on a well or Honeoye Lake for their water. After discussing the new water district for several years, concerns over the condition of Honeoye Lake have helped make the project a top priority, Canadice Town Supervisor Kris Singer said last month.

Page 2 of 2 - “When we began, it was more a desire by many residents that has now turned into a necessity due to the issues with Honeoye Lake,” she said.